Lazor took over two weeks into last season, replacing the fired Ken Zampese and needing to right a ship with an offense he hadn’t installed. Eventual progress despite a struggling offensive line resulted in Marvin Lewis and the Bengals rewarding him with the position full time in 2018.

Now’s he’s beating the change drum and being quite blunt about it. He won’t be content with simply making the playoffs.

For Lazor, the goal is a Super Bowl and that means pushing the limits instead of leaning on what works well enough, as he told Jim Owczarski of the Cincinnati Enquirer.

“We might need to change some things,” Lazor said. “Even though something got us to five straight playoffs, if it was preventing us from going further, maybe there’s something that can get us a little further. Sometimes it’s uncomfortable to let go what has gotten you so far, because it is pretty good, but we’ve got to make sure pretty good isn’t good enough.”

Lazor probably expects skepticism from the fanbase. Despite the return of Lewis, we’d be remiss not to point out the aggressiveness in trading for Cordy Glenn and the general upheaval of the coaching staff underneath Lewis, so Lazor’s words aren’t unbelievable.

Glenn, along with first-round rookie Billy Price, will revamp the offensive line entirely. A newfound emphasis on Joe Mixon as the workhorse back and the possibility of a healthy, productive John Ross make things interesting, as well.

The task sounds simple enough. Lazor admitting he’s going to force guys out of comfort zones because he wants to compete for titles, not playoff berths, should be a welcome development for fans.

While bold, Lazor’s stance is a bit of fresh air for a team with a playoff window possibly closing.